Macho gives way to metrosexual as Filipino men challenge stereotypes

A beautician gives a male client a facial treatment costing $21 (880 pesos) at a skin care clinic in a mall in Quezon City, Metro Manila.

Cheryl Ravelo / Reuters

Ryan Tan looks at himself in his bathroom mirror as he applies a skin care product in Paranaque City, Manila.

By Cheryl Ravelo, Reuters

Cheryl Ravelo / Reuters

Ryan Estipona has his face covered with a mask during a facial treatment at a clinic in Quezon City, Metro Manila.

Beauty clinics catering to men are thriving in the Philippines, part of a booming market for male cosmetics in the Asia Pacific region.

Expensive facial treatments, pimple injections and whitening products are not within everybody's price range, but even rural menfolk are making an effort.

"We already have dark skin, we'll be ugly if we get even darker," said Romeo Apelado, 59, a fisherman wearing a worn-out mask made of pieces of fabric sewn together and a long-sleeved shirt to protect his skin from the sun, as he set out to fish for six to eight hours every day.

Fisherman Ompong Vargas, 39, who wears a facial mask made of fabric to protect his skin from getting darker, holds a fish in his mouth as he searches a net at Laguna de Bay in Taguig City, Metro Manila. During the dry season, fishermen earn $2 to $7 (70-300 pesos) per day.

Cheryl Ravelo / Reuters

Ryan Estipona uses his mobile phone as a mirror as he waits for a facial treatment at a skin care clinic in a mall in Quezon City, Metro Manila.

Cheryl Ravelo / Reuters

Ryan Tan's wife, Anne, touches his face as they eat at a restaurant in Muntinlupa City, Manila.

Cheryl Ravelo / Reuters

Ryan Tan picks up a skin care product from his bathroom counter in Paranaque City, Manila.

Cheryl Ravelo / Reuters

A beautician peels a gel mask from a client's face at a skin care clinic at a mall in Quezon City, Metro Manila.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Pictures taken May 22-27, 2013 and made available to NBC News today.